


Twins?/Reddie

by Lyshiab



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King, Stranger Things (TV 2016), Stranger Things - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Pennywise (IT), Alternate Universe - Twins, Angst, Bisexual Richie Tozier, Drama, Gay Eddie Kaspbrak, M/M, Richie Tozier is a Little Shit, Teenage Drama, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2019-10-08 22:46:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17395127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyshiab/pseuds/Lyshiab
Summary: In which Richie and Mike are twins who both have a crush on Eddie. Now Eddie has to choose which twin he wants to be, and his isn’t sure which one.





	1. 1

_**1** _

In the small town of Derry Maine, lived the two hottest twins, Richie Tozier and Mike Tozier. They were anything but normal, and every person that stepped foot into their existence weren't sure whether they wanted to be them, or be on top of them.

Richie was the bad boy twin. He always kept his hair curly and dyed, wore studded jackets and rip jeans, drove a polished black motorcycle to school everyday to school, listened to bands that you probably never heard about. He was the epitome of a bad boy in the eyes of jocks, cheerleaders, nerds and the quiet ones, which lead to where his twin brother was categorized.

Mike, he was the soft twin. He refused to dye his hair different colors because he didn’t want to resemble Richie. He wore sweaters and beanies, rode his vintage bicycle to school because he cared about the environment, listened to artists like Ariana Grande and Conan Gray. He was the opposite of what people called Richie, and was often the one that was tossed aside because he wasn’t as cool as his twin brother.

They were the kings of the school, students dividing into a ritual of half and half, part of them choosing Richie for his punk like qualities, while the others chose Mike because they weren’t interested in dating a bad boy.

But then came Eddie.

He wasn’t sure what he wanted, because when he looked at Mike, he wanted Richie, and when he looked at Richie he wanted Mike. To sum it all up, he wanted both of them. Eddie was never the kind of guy who went for the rebel, but he was also never the kind of guy who followed up with someone who resembled a adorable kitten. It was always somewhere in between. But in this case, there were exceptions.

Mike has two best friends, Dustin Henderson classified as a book nerd, dressed like anime characters on odd days and like superhero’s on even, wore oversized flannels most of the time, and was kind of geeky but defensive if he wanted to be, and Will Byers known as zombie boy, wore round glasses that reminded everyone of Harry Potter, and was an excellent artist.

The thing about the twins is that everybody was crushing on them, even the teachers who taught them. But Eddie, he was special, he was the chosen one in both of their lives, and the brunette liked what he saw on each of them.

Which is why he was so indecisive about the entire thing. He wanted them both.

And the thing about Eddie was that he was lucky, because despite everyone wanting the twins, the twins wanted him.

And that left Eddie stuck with the decision of choosing which twin he really wanted to be with, and that brought on more complications than he expected.


	2. 2

**_2_ **

Richie has a motorcycle to resemble to resemble his punk like qualities, but it wasn’t one that he valued. You see, he was the spoiled one in the family. Maggie and Daryl purchased the vehicle for him in 2008, four years before it was legal for him to drive, and he drove it everywhere. He was the kind of person who had everything handed to him freely, and he had never had to work a day in his life or pay a cent in his life. It was all about his looks. Richie had the hair, the abs, and Mike wasn’t surprised that his brother brought somebody home every other day.

There was something about Richie that drove Mike crazy, perhaps it was that fact that their relationship is rather competitive, and Richie has always been one to win their arguments or quick exchanges that revolves around something they both shared interest for. In this case it was Eddie. He was all Mike wanted, with his sweet little brown eyes and the way he wore male and female clothes because he didn’t care what other people thought. 

Mike tried not to be jealous when he saw Richie standing in front of the shattered mirror with his fingers going through this hair. If you were wondering about the mirror, they got in a fight once and it didn’t end well by all means. Richie was wearing his usual entire, studded leather jacket, rip skinny jeans, a tight black choker that hung around his neck perfectly, and black beat up converse. He was everything that his brother wasn’t.

“Where are you going?”

”Out,” Richie reiterated, spitting something in the sink just before draining it out with the faucet water. His hair looked nice, he actually put effort into styling it, unlike Mike who was careless as he could get. Not that it was necessarily a bad thing.

”People like us don’t go out past eight,” Mike confronted, standing in the doorway to block Richie from proceeding on with whatever he had in mind, but his twin brother wasn’t having it and just pushed him out the way. “No, I think you mean people like you. Learn to live a little.”

Mike scoffed, pressing his back further into the wall as he watched his brother slide on a pair of leather gloves. “I can live a little if I want to.”

”Yeah, sure and Donald Trump can learn to respect minorities,” Richie retorted with an eye roll, gesturing for Mike to move out the way. “I’m taking somebody for a ride tonight, away from the town of Darry.”

”Who?” Mike pursed with a furrowed eyebrow, the controversy of it all leaving him curious, though he didn’t care all that much about what his brother was up to. But seeing his twin grin made him feel uneasy, because that could only mean one thing.

”Eddie.”

_No.No.No.No.No_

”You can’t,” Mike voice cracked, his body slumping to its level as he sat down on the couch, all nerves being revealed as his twin brother glared at him, “I told you how I feel about him, Richie.”

“Yeah, so?”

Mike felt defeated entirely, because there was no way he could possibly win against his twin brother in this case. It’d be best for him to just give up on Eddie all together, but with the way that boy makes his heart race he isn’t sure if it’s possible. “Okay.”

“Great,” Richie grinned once again just before throwing something into his pocket and slamming the door. That was the last Mike had seen him in that sort of mental state, and it agitated him beyond belief.

Richie was excited as he pulled up to Eddie’s house, watching as the brunette peered away from his front door with proper, warm attire tackling his skin. He looked nice, and Richie was glad that he chose him over Mike. This was the one thing he didn’t want to be competitive about, despite knowing that he’d just end up with the boy, anyway.

“Ready to go, babe?”

”Babe?” Eddie quirked, his voice squeaking the slightest bit as Richie handed him a helmet. “That’s new.”

”You’ll get used to it,” Richie shrugged, while patting the spot behind him for Eddie to sit. “Hop on.”

“Are we going anywhere specific?”

”You’ll see.”

Eddie had his arms wrapped around Richie waist for support, throughout the entire ride, and Richie would be lying if he said he wasn’t dying on the inside from how cute the brunette was. He just really wanted to claim the boy as his, but he knew that there was also Mike and agh, why couldn’t Eddie just make a decision already.

“Coastdelle?” Eddie squirmed, instantly hopping off the back of his vehicle before Richie had the chance to help him, his eyes scanning over the tall buildings and the city lights that seemed extraordinary to him. “My dad always told me about this place, the myths, the urban legends, but I never believed that they were true.”

”Guess we’ll find out,” Richie smiles, holding his hand out for Eddie to take, which the brunette gladly accepted as they began strolling around the new city that amused Eddie more than it did with with Richie. But that’s just because he isn’t fascinated by things as most people. “Some of the biggest celebrities performed in this city.”

”Have you seen them before?”

”No,” Eddie replied, lip protruding outwards as his fingers dangled in the carapaces of Richie’s, “I’d like to think that I’ll be able to one day.”

”I’ll make you a deal, if you let me take you out on a proper date, I promise I’ll bring you here next time a celebrity you like preforms,” Richie offered, hope resting in the palm of his hands as he stared at Eddie. 

Eddie looked as though he was pondering on and off about something.

”That sounds nice.”

Eddie really wasn’t sure about who he liked more at the moment.

But so far, Richie was winning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?  
> Did you think Richie was being a dick to Mike?🧐


	3. 3

___**3** _

”Art.”

Mike was with his two best friends, Dustin and Will the ones that everybody refused to chat with due to their odd qualities. The freckled boy was planning out date ideas for Eddie, because he didn’t want his twin brother to win this time. He was awfully sad about the fact that Richie was in the lead so far, with his stupid motorcycle adventure. Maybe the brunette liked him because he had bright purple hair and tattoos that still remain a mystery to everybody around him. Mike tried not to be jealous of his brother, but so far, it wasn’t working. He had everything.

“Art?” Mike riposted, leaning his back against the headboard of Dustin’s bed. The brown haired boy was flipping through pages of a new book as he hummed along to the conversation going on between his best friends. He was definitely a nerd, but so was Will and Mike.

“Yeah, that is what I said,” Will answered in a patient manner, knowing that Mike didn’t catch onto things as easily as others did, but that was okay and he always tried to have an understanding tone. “I have a bunch of old canvases in the garage that I never use.”

“Would that really make a good date, though?”

”Mike,” Dustin stayed sternly, looking up from his book, his two best friends noticing that he was on page 302 to almost 305,”I can second Will on this, art is everything and just imagine asking him to paint something and he takes your breath away.”

“And if he sucks at painting?”

”You’re thinking way too into this,” Dustin answered, admiring the way Will pushed up his round glasses. “I think this could be good for the both of you, and it doesn’t matter if he is amazing at art, or terrible, it’s having fun that counts.” Will hummed once more to what Dustin was saying, and Mike nodded his head in agreement. Sure, he was no Richie but he was Mike and he hoped that was pretty damn good for Eddie.

•

Outside the front yard of a two story house stood Mike, wearing wearing black overalls and a red shirt, paired with Eddie, who threaded skinny jeans and a grey shirt with a yellow smiley face on it. He looked nice, and the freckles boy felt rather self conscious. “Hey,” Mike confidentially breathed out, though deep inside, he was dreading this moment and wanted to crawl into a hole.

”Hi,” Eddie replied with a soft smile churning at the edge of his lips, fingers gently resting inside of his denim pocket. “What are we doing today?”

”We,” Mike stated slowly as he gestured for the brunette to follow him towards where the two canvases were, “are making art.”

”Art?” Eddie quirked again with his head tipping to the left, the action reminding Mike of a puppy, when in fact, he resembled one perfectly. “Well if you insist.”

Eddie threw on one of those aprons lying down  on the freshly mowed grass, just before leaning towards the miniature buckets of paint and dipping a paintbrush in the selected light pink one. “I can make anything?”

”Anything you want.” Mike said with a smile, just before throwing his apron on as well, “I’ll be over there painting somethin. Feel free to play music the radios over there.” The brunette nodded, dipping his paintbrush back into the can, before walking over towards where the radio rested, plugging his aux cord in and playing one of his absolute favorites.

”You like Conan Gray?” Mike perked up, stroking his paintbrush against the material, hearing Eddie hum in response. He was so freaking cute. “Favorite song?”

“Hm, I think Idle Town will always be one of my favorites, but Greek God is a close second,” Eddie smiled, admiring the way his masterpiece was coming to life, “you?”

”Crush Culture because I’m basic,” Mike chuckled, splattering his tarpaulin with a bit of amazing blue mixed in with black. For a split second they fell into a comfortable silence, just before their eyes meet again, and there lied the oblivion of fondness and appreciation. They were certainly in a moment, but Mike felt like ruining it by throwing his paint brush in Eddie’s direction, the blue splattering all over his apron, as well as landing a bit on his cheek.

”Really?” Eddie groaned, eyelashes fluttering as he gave Mike a playful smile. “Oh it’s on.” And the two boys pounced around the Tozier’s front yard, attacking one another with paint, until they were completely covered from head to toe. Both boys were a laughing mess, afterwards.

”Want to hug it out?” Mike suggested, ignoring the way Richie had officially pulled up to the house with his stupid studded leather jacket and his stupid motorcycle. Luckily, Eddie wasn’t paying attention when he lured the vehicle into the garage. “Oh hell no,” Eddie giggled, “I’m not getting anymore messy than I already am.”

”Tood bad.” Mike laughed back, chasing after Eddie as the brunette attempted to scream in a high pitched manner, causing Mike to land on the ground from laughing so much. Eddie joined him after a while, wiping his galaxy palms against the grass as he lied down next to Mike’s body. “Okay, okay, now that we’re down acting like complete idiots,” Mike said between giggles, “I think we should show each other what we painted on the count of three.”

”Okay!”

“Three...”

”Two...”

”One...”

Both boys started laughing again, not missing the way their eyes held even more fond and appreciation than before. They drew each other. Perhaps they weren’t the best at creating a portrait worth a million dollars, but it was the thought that counts.

”I do not look like that,” Eddie pouted, shoving Mike playfully as the freckled boy repeated the brunette. “And my nose isn’t that big, but I guess we both have different opinions.”

”Stop being adorable,” Mike chuckled once again, using his now dry arm to pull Eddie closer. “I like you a lot, you know?”

Eddie’s heart sped up. “I like you too, Mike.”

But the problem is, he still didn’t know which twin he liked more, but so far Mike and Richie were even with points, and that really wasn’t a good thing.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?  
> Team Richie or Mike?  
> Which date was your favorite?


	4. 4

* * *

**_4_ **

”Why are you jealous of your brother?”

Mike wasn’t entirely sure of his answer when Will asked, but it was simply because he was lacking confidence, while Richie had the full package. He had the looks, half of Mike intelligence, tanner skin than Mike actually did, and the pale boy was jealous of it all. He didn’t mind that his twin was able to beat him in athletic competitions—but what made him feel better was that the only thing he won was a spelling bee in eighth grade. That was it, and he’s still proud of that accomplishment. “I dunno, Will, I just feel like he’ll win Eddie over, and he gets everything he wants.”

“You really like this kid, don’t you?” Will parched, sitting up from his seat as his curls fell down upon his face, his newly styled hair resembling him nicely. Mike anxiously nodded his head as he threw his Marvel comic book down on the ground, just before panicking and realized that he wrinkled it. That wasn’t part of his agenda. “Dammit, can you go grab my crease straightedge? It’s on my nightstand.”

There was another thing about Mike that Eddie didn’t know—he was a ginormous perfectionist, cared too much about things being right rather then wrong, and didn’t take risks because he was scared of things lacking perfection. While he had his flaws, he wanted to make sure everything around him didn’t. 

And maybe that’s why the brunette was drooling over Richie because he was the bad boy, the one who didn’t have a care in the world and wore whatever he wanted to, even if it looked foolish, and it was ridiculous. Because Mike could only wish he didn’t care, when I reality, he cared to much.

“Here you go,” Will stayed softly, his tone growing patient as he made eye-contact with one of his best friends, the atmosphere suddenly swarming into a comfortable silence, “I know how much you like him Mike, I really do, but I also think you need to stop over exaggerating and worry more about you. If Richie wins, then it’s really Eddie’s loss, not yours.”

“I get that, but Richie gets everything,” Mike sighed, pressing his straightedge down on the magazine before frowning and throwing the comic into the trash can, it landing perfectly, “do you remember the science fair—how he won out of the species competition section, and all he fricking did was spray paint a fake frog.”

Will shook his head, setting his new book down, the title reading ‘Stolen’, his eyes capturing sight of the view in front of him. Mike was panicking, because today, it was Richie’s day, and who knows where his twin brother took Eddie. Probably somewhere all cute, not at all tidy, perhaps even messy and Eddie would still love it. It just isn’t fair.

”Want to go down to the exhibit? I heard they have a free astronomy course now,” Will suggested, placing a ribbon in between the pages of his book to mark his territory, and Mike just smiled with a nod to the head. He was a nerd, of course he wanted to go study the planets, constellations and atomic masses. It was just his thing and of course, it was a thing that Richie tried to steal. Yeah, they’re competitive brothers.

Meanwhile, Richie and Eddie were lying side by side in a boat, it transporting them to the city of ‘Hansbury PleasantGate.’ It was the slightly bigger end of town merely for tourists and adventurous couples. Richie wasn’t all that fond of exploring places while everybody thought he was, and they made him out to be a complete jerk, when in reality, he was just competitive. And when he wants something, he’s first to make sure he gets it before anybody else.

“Tell me your favorite thing about yourself,” Eddie smiled softly, leaning against the textile pillow, arms wavering around Richie’s waist. He was almost as buff as Richie, which was quite adorable. They could be that couple who work out with each other on a daily basis. Richie works well under peer pressure, while Mike doesn’t. They’re opposite twins, even though statistics say they’re supposed to be alike in a non-genetic way.

“Hm,” Richie hummed, pressing his decently tanned fingers against his chin, despite them generally being pale, “I think it’s that I’m not afraid of taking chances.”

“You’re not?” Eddie grinned, pressing his thumb against Richie’s belly button, stifling a slight laugh out of the other boy, “I could think of a few things that involve taking chances.”

“Oh yeah?” Richie smirked back, loosening his grip around Eddie’s as his chest fell into the younger boys, “like what?” They were awfully close.

“Like this.” It was only seconds until their faces inching closer and closer when their lips finally touched, sparks enkindling between them—Eddie’s emotions overflowing like a broken kitchen sink. Who did he like more?

Richie was the first twin to kiss Eddie.

”What’d you think?” Eddie asked nervously, biting down on his lip as he looked into Richie’s eyes, and he hated this feeling because it was both good and bad. He couldn’t stop thinking about Mike, when he knew vey well that the next time he sees the other twin he won’t be able to stop thinking about Richie. He hates it so much.

”I think I want you,” Richie gasped, eagerly presssing his lips against Eddie’s in a somewhat greedy matter, again, while Eddie pulled away breathlessly, seconds later. “No, I know I want you.”

”I need time to think about what I want.”

”Seriously?” Richie groaned, “I swear Eddie, I’m the better twin! I mean have you seen my brother? He’s a prick, a virgin, hasn’t kissed anybody in his entire life and he’s trying to steal you from me. That’s practically makes him a love criminal, and a selfish little twat that just wants to impress his mommy.” (Richie wasn’t on good terms with his mom at the moment.) “You need time to think about what you want? Then fine, I accept that, but don’t come crying to me when Mike breaks your sorry little heart because he’s too fucking shy to make a move.”

”I-“

”Has he even made a move yet, Eddie?”

”Well no, but-“ Eddie couldn’t even hinder a sentence without being interrupted by the falsely tanned boy in front of him. He likes Richie a lot, and he likes Mike a lot as well, but maybe this twin was right. Mike hasn’t made a move yet, which means he probably isn’t even interested in him as Eddie would like to think. “Exactly, weigh your options here.”

Eddie huffed as he leaned against the dock and closed his fluttering eyelashes, his heart pounding rapidly inside of his chest as he thought about which twin he wanted more. He had a lot of fun with Mike yesterday but he also likes how mysterious Richie is, and it keeps leading him into new directions that he’s never discovered before. “I’m sorry for upsetting you.”

“You didn’t,” Richie replied in a softer tone, his lips planting into a thin line, “I’m sorry for yelling. I overreacted, and you didn’t deserve to be lashed out on. I’m just so fucking sick of being competitive with my brother. He complains about me getting everything, yet everyone loves him. He has nice friends who support him, a family that isn’t disappointed in him because of his past, good grades, an overly educated mind, and I’m just some dumb punk that owns a motorcycle, smokes weed and knows how to get laid.”

Now Eddie felt sad for Richie. He really didn’t know how to feel, so he just awkwardly cradled his body into the taller boys, embracing him into a tight, long lasting hug to show him that he was there. “Look, I know this is hard on you right now  but it’s hard on me too, and I need you to understand that making decisions like these aren’t as easy as they seem. And I want you to know that no matter what happens, I’m always here for you.”

Richie smiled, blinking away the damp droplets that were trying to fall from his eyes, but he wouldn’t let them out because he needed to keep up his reputation. “Well this nice date turned out to be really shitty.”

”Don’t day that,” Eddie frowned, poking his finger into Richie’s chest, “I enjoyed every minute, because spending time with you is what counts.”

”Thanks, Eddie.”

”Anytime, love.”

 

Richie: 3  

Mike: 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?
> 
> What are your opinions on Richie now?  
> Be honest. I’d really like to know


	5. 5

  _ **5**_

Mike tried not to show his excitement when he realized that after school today, he had the opportunity to take Eddie out again. He overheard Richie talking on the phone the night after his date with the brunette, saying how pathetic Mike was because he couldn’t even make a move on Eddie, and so he knew what he had to do-he was going to kiss him. Throughout lunch, Will and Dustin consistently asked the pale boy questions, but he just continued to blank out. He had to plan today out thoroughly in order for things to go smoothly. If he doesn’t kiss Eddie, Richie will win.

”Are you alright, Mike?” Dustin pursed, fingernails digging into his new Attack on Titan  costume that he described as ‘awfully itchy.’ Today was odd day. “You’re usually the talkative one in this group.”

”I’m assuming it’s Eddie problems,” Will added in, tossing his Stolen book into his jansport backpack, before replacing it with a classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich, “I suppose you’re worried because of your brother again.” Mike really hated that his friend was right.

“Yeah, and he’s winning. I overheard him talking to his friend last night,” Mike retorted while picking at his fingernails, “I remember him saying that I’m pathetic, that I’m a prick because I’m taking Eddie away from him and I don’t deserve him because I’m too scared to make a move.”

“So, end his dramatic ass now and slay him by getting Eddie on your side,” Dustin suggested, quickening his fanning motion with his hand as his coustume was overheating. It was quite interesting how the school regulate those outfits of his, but they amused everybody, nonetheless. “You are going to make a move, right?”

”I don’t know how to,” Mike shamefully admitted, sucking in his cheeks as he realized that maybe Richie was right, maybe he wasn’t worthy of being with somebody who deserved so much, “I’m such a fucking idiot.”

“Hey, don’t fucking swear!” Will shouted practically punching his sandwhich out of anger because he really didn’t like curse words , when in reality he was just a hypocrite and failed at making his point. “But you just did-“

“Shush,” Will replied with an eye roll, his geeky round glasses nearly falling off his face, “I’m going to big the hell out of Mrs. Easton, heard she’s single now.” Maybe Dustin hit his arm afterwards for saying that.

-

It was finally after school, and Mike was waiting by the front doors for Eddie, who showed up ten minutes later with a smile on his face and a backpack slung over his shoulder. “Hey, Mike.” He really liked the way Eddie said his name. “Hi.”

”Where to today?”

”I was thinking that you could decide. Take me somewhere that makes you happy?” Mike quirked with a little squeak falling out of his mouth, and Eddie really tried not to coo over how cute the pale boy was.

The two boys strutted over to the Kaspbrak household, renting out the yellow hummer that belonged to his father, knowing that if Eddie arrived home with one simple scratch on it, he’d be grounded for the rest of his life. “Hop on in.”

It took approximately twenty one minutes to arrive at the area Eddie had chosen, and to say Mike was surprised would be an understatement. He should have expected this, but he didn’t not one bit.

”Why the beach?”

“My favorite memory was created here.”

Eddie grabbed the keys out of the ignition, just before hopping out the car and locking the doors when Mike was standing with his feet in the sand. “Tell me about it.”

”Let’s go find somewhere to sit first,” Eddie suggested, and Mike nodded along as he followed behind him, curious as to exactly where they were going, only to find out minutes later that they were sitting on the surf of the ocean, near the tidal waves. “I can still taste the ocean like it was yesterday,” Eddie chuckled, pressing his thumbs into the mushy sand as Mike arched his body closer to the short boy.

”Does that relate to your favorite memory?”

”I used to go down to the beach with my family a lot, and I had this little watering can. Lily, my sister she was passionate about making sand castles, while I just liked playing in the ocean. My step mom was the surfer of the family and my dad was the kind of guy who liked kicking it at the bar and ordering a bunch of fancy drinks. Me? I liked tasting the ocean.”

”Yeah?” Mike continued to listen on, making sure that there was a continuous stream of brown and green forming a pretty odd saturated sunrise. 

“I started collecting ocean water as a hobby. There was this giant red bucket that I brought with me everywhere as a slight connivance, and I’d use my baby blue plastic wathering can to fill it up. Of course, after legitimately tasting the ocean, I got indescribably sick and had to be put on bed rest for weeks. Despite that, I still had my bucket of ocean water resting on my nightstand.”

Mike kept quiet as Eddie spoke, his lips sealing into a small, cute smile to resemble how fond he was of the boy.

”I went back a couple weeks later with my step mom, and I brought my typical watering can with me, and the red bucket with the baby turtle in it, and I sat in the shallow part of the ocean where the sand was. My trunks were soaked and it was kind of cold but I was too focused on adding to my collection. Anyway, while I was grasping a hold of the beautiful, yet muddy water, I saw something swimming towards me. It was a turtle, a baby one that just hatched from an egg and it was without a family.”

Eddie with a baby turtle sounded cute.

”I was seven at the time and wasn’t entirely educated on how you’d take care of a species like that so I scooped the turtle up and put it in my bucket of water, allowing it to just swim around in there. It seemed like the perfect amount of space for it,” Mike sighed with a smile curving on his lips, “I ran to my step mom with the bucket in my hands and I was so excited about it. But she told me that I couldn’t keep it for more than a week. I was surprised she let me keep it at all.”

”Mhm,” Mike hummed, awkwardly tracing his fingers against Eddie’s arm as the boy continued on with telling his story. “Lily was studying marine biology at the time, so she knew all about turtles, and what they needed to survive in this kind of habit.”

Mike remained silent, admiring the way the brunettes eyes lit up as he remembered his favorite memory. “We went back to the same beach about a week later, and I sat in my usual spot. Turns out there was a rock that washed up to the shore. “You know the space between a rock and a hard place?”

”Not really no,” Mike answered, despite being the nerdy one in this relationship, he wasn’t all that educated on sea animals, “tell me about it?”

”There was the parent turtle-we found it Mike and I just knew it right then and there because the baby turtle, that I named Freddy was moving it’s arms in a quickening pace signaling that it knew it’s parent. I was so happy, Mike. It’s still my favorite memory to this day because it’s such a beautiful thing to watch a parent and a child find each other, you know? Doesn’t matter if it’s related to the human race, or a rare form of animal extinction, it’s still beautiful.”

“You really like turtles now, don’t you?”

”One of my absolute favorites,” Eddie pawned, just before wrapping his arm around the pale boys waist, “I want you to tell me about something that makes you happy, now. I’ve been talking for a while.”

”You.”

“Oh come on, Mike there has to be something in the world that makes you happy, aside from me,” Eddie giggled, confidentially pressing a kiss to the pale boys cheek as a form of comfort, “I know that you like me, and I know you know that I like you back, but I want to know about your favorite memory.”

”Maybe another time,” Mike retorted, not realizing that he was shutting Eddie out while Richie didn’t, he wasn’t the one to take risk. “I’m aware that Richie told you a couple of things about me yesterday, and I just hope that me being a virgin and not having my first kiss doesn’t affect how you see me.”

“Are you kidding?” Eddie questioned, his eyes twinkling as he was dazed under the sunlight, “I care for you for more than just your body, love. Don’t worry about Richie right now, it’s our day. But is it really true that you’ve never kissed anybody?”

”Yeah,” Mike admitted, his cheeks turning a bright pink, “don’t tell anyone.”

”I’m in no place to tell,” Eddie laughed, “I don’t even remember my first kiss, in all honesty, but I want you to remember yours.” The brunette was leaning closer to Mike, pressing his hand against the pale boys neck, closing his eyes and puckering his lips and Mike, he panicked. He pulled away, and scurried in the other direction, while staying seated on the mushy sand as Eddie looked up shocked.

“Did you not want to kiss me?”

”I do, I’m just not ready.” No, that wasn’t it. He cared too much about it being perfect. And this wasn’t, it was too public, too plain, too Mike, rather then Richie. “I’m so sorry.”

”It’s fine.” Eddie tried not to act hurt. “I guess we should get going then? It’s nearing dusk.”

Mike really knew Richie was winning now.

All because of his stupid shyness. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?  
> Okay, so do any of you hate Richie? And how do you feel about this date?
> 
> *sorry if this chapter was long and that I talked about turtles a lot.*


	6. 6

**6**

 

Richie was rather content with himself when realizing that he was winning, which is exactly why he decided to step up his game up even more. Today, he was taking Eddie to Union Hall. The most authorized and talked about building and business in town, where political conversations mattered the most to fellow citizens in Derry. Rather than participating in certifications and loop holes of the exterior world, he wanted to proclaim some sort of rebellious act with his one and only-avoiding the thought of his twin brother catching up to him sometime soon.

”Your car smells like axe and beer, you know?” Eddie brought up as he buckled his seatbelt, taking in the interior decorations inside of Richie’s car-the pine tree air freshener, the faux red leather seats, the weird Christmas ornament dangling from his front mirror. “You resemble the male stereotypes well.”

”I guess,” Richie shrugged as he pulled into a near parking space, “I want to do something different today.” Richie was kind of intimidating. He had a nice body—figure-it was a mixture of petite and muscular, while his stomach wasn’t at all pudgy. Mike was the complete opposite, and that made Eddie wonder which he preferred more. Cuddle wise would earn points for Mike, but in another circumstance, his answers may differ.

”What kind of different?”

The two boys continue to sit in Richie’s car with their seatbelts on, while Eddie was unrecognizably staring at the falsely pale boy fondly, and Richie was bitting down on his lip because the cutest boy in the entire world was sitting next to him. How did he get so lucky? “Alright, do you know where we are?”

Eddie nodded. “Union Hall.”

“And do you know what we may possibly be doing here?” Richie pushed again, his breath fanning against Eddie’s neck. There was so much sexual tension, and there was noticeable amount of sweat dripping from Richie’s dark brown curls that kind of turned the light hair brunette on. Maybe this was too soon.”

”Nope,” Eddie answered, popping the ‘p’. He was relatively intimidated by the boy in front of him, but only because of his punk like qualities. He was the epitome of the bad guy portrayed in the movies that every girl wanted to be with- that every girl chose over the nerd. Except in this case, Eddie isn’t a girl, and he wants both the nerd and the punk. If only he could date both of them. That’d make matters so much easier.

”Come on, I’ll show you.”

Richie was the first to get out of his car, while Eddie awkwardly trotted behind and listened to the sound of the doors locking, which left him in some sort of peace. Both boys were walking to the back of the Union Hall, where an alley lied between bright green tress and painted dumpsters to create a nicer image. It was the one area where Union Hall had a difficult time looking through the security cameras. Time to be rebellious.

”Not to be a bad influence on you, but,” Richie paused with a mischievous grin painted on his lips, “I’m going to be one for today and only today.” The thought of breaking the rules made goosebumps form on Eddie’s arm, and he was kind of excited. Mike would never do something like this. But he was also too much of a goody two shoes and a perfectionist. Not that there was anything wrong with that in particular.

”How will you be a bad influence?”

Richie held one finger up as a way of telling him to hold on, and inside of his backpack held a pack of sealed bottles of beer that he recently purchased last night. He’d hadn’t this idea in the back of his head for a while now. “I think the best way to get to know somebody is when you’re drunk.”

“Why?” Eddie quirked our of curiosity, not really being certain of drinking because he was  one to get reckless easily and it’d be quite the show. “Sorry for asking so many questions.”

”You’re fine, cutie,” Richie grinned, running his fingers through his dark brown curly hair. “See that empty garage over there?” Once again, Eddie nodded. “Follow me.”

Into the garage went the falsely pale boy and the brown eyed boy, both seeming vain and awkward as Richie crawled under the open space of the garage, him being first to help pull his crush through after. “If you don’t want to drink, it’s fine, but I do want to know more about you, and the only way I can do that is by letting loose.

Getting drunk actually made Richie more emotional, which was very important.

”No it’s fine,” Eddie reassured the taller boy, intertwining their fingers together, “I won’t be too phased by one beer, but maybe two or three will get to me...”

And Eddie really wasn’t kidding, because exactly two bottles of beer later, he was a laughing mess, both boys somehow ending up on the floor of the Union Hall garage, spilling secrets that weren’t meant to be told.

”Do you know I once hid a dildo under Mike’s bed and got him grounded?” Richie chuckled, sipping down his third bottle of beer, not realizing his laughter was spreading throughout the alleyway. Perhaps they should keep it down. “Mum was so pissed for weeks it was great.”

”Reminds me of the time my sister had a guy over because she was having a thing with him, but because I’m gay, she decided it’d be fun to blame it on me and I was banned from any sort of social interaction for weeks.”

”That’s bullshit,” Richie laughed again. “I really want to make out with you right now.”

”Same,” Eddie blushed, forgetting that he practically told Richie a ton of childhood stories that were meant to stay private, “I  might suck at it, though.”

”Shut up.” And Eddie did as Richie grabbed the brunette chin—gently, yet needy, their lips passionately locking with one another, just before their tongues slipped into action. This went on for three minutes, until they were completely bidding away their breaths.

”That was nice.”

”Just like you?” Richie suggested, that same odd smile resting upon his cheeks-the one that made Eddie’s stomach feel funny.

”Stop.”

”Your wish is my command.”

And while he was having a blast getting completely wasted with Richie, couldn’t stop thinking about Mike, and what he had planned for them tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I’ve haven't been updating👏🏽😪
> 
> Thoughts?  
> Warming up to Richie?


	7. 7

_**7** _

Everybody knew how much of a perfectionist Mike was, especially Eddie, and the short boy knew just how bad the pale boy wanted to get first place in his school’s spelling bee. Most people assumed that it something for amateurs, to which Mike would argue with because no, no it wasn’t. He assumed that Eddie was expecting their day to be a little formal, a little more perfect, and a little more romantic but no, Eddie was happy to be sitting  in the front row of the auditorium, supporting his crush every step of the way.

Mike was nervous. He’s never failed a competition before, because he studies his ass off most of the time, and then feels proud over it for years. But this time it was different because with one person he felt obligated to impress, just sitting there, made him feel uneasy, incapable, anxious. This wasn’t like him but Eddie gave him butterflies-the good kind, and he didn’t want to disappoint. It was sad how he cared more about impressing Eddie than he did with his own parents. Richie wasn’t even there, like the good supportive twin he should have been. Eddie noticed, and made a mental note to confront Richie about it on tomorrow’s date.

“Hello, my name is Alex, and I’ll be hosting this years spelling bee!” There stood an overly enthusiastic girl behind a podium with a microphone in her hand. It was the sight of her that made Eddie cringe, he couldn’t wait to see Mike. “And these are our contestants. Our first runner up is Diego Smith, second is Bobby Mars, third is Mike Wheeler, fourth-“ Eddie decided to tune out the rest, because he just wasn’t having it.

He found it adorable how nervous Mike was, how he was continuously tying his tie to make sure it had a perfect knot, how he ran his fingers through his hair every other minute, then frowned when realizing that it wasn’t his ideal style, and he found it cute how he kept tapping his foot against the ground and looking at everyone with his big doe brown eyes and those pouty lips of his. This made Eddie really happy.

”Diego, your word is Eudaemonic.”

“Can you use the word in a sentence?” Diego questioned, and this was making Mike even more nervous, because he needed to win. He needed to prove to Eddie that he was better than Richie, but now he was uncertain of becoming a champion again.

”Rose felt eudaemonic after she visited her favorite supermarket with her best friend today.”

Diego nodded, just before confidentially speaking into the microphone, “e-u-d-a-e-m-o-n-i-c.”

”That’s correct.”

This went on for a rather long period, until there was only three contestants left, the first ones who were introduced. But Bobby mistakenly misspelled a word and was suspended from participating further on, while it lead a tough competition between Diego and Mike.

“Mike Wheeler, your word is narcolepsy.”

”n-a-r-c-o-l-e-p-s-y”

”Correct,” the judge smiled, “Diego your word is elucidate.”

”Uh, e-l-l-u-c-i-d-a-t-e.”

The judge sighed, just before writing something down, “that’s is unfortunately incorrect..Mike, if you can spell this last word correctly, you’ll win this year spelling bee.” Mike nodded, shakily pressing his fingers against the microphone as he stood in front of everyone. Eddie giving him a small smile and a thumbs up helped calm him down a lot, though.

”Your last word is cymotrichous”

”c-y-m-o-t-r-i-c-h-o-u-s,” Mike gulped, suddenly feeling as though he was under pressure. He can’t lose, he can’t  fail his parents, he can’t disappoint the person he wants to be with. “Congratulations, Mike you won first place.”

The pale boy couldn’t stop the smile from portraying on his lips, or the tears that were attempting to fall from his eyes because he couldn’t believe he actually won, he’s always felt like a failure, despite his large amounts of successions. The judges handed him a certificate and a miniature trophy, along with a small medal, and he just stood on stage shocked. But then Eddie knocked him out of it by running up on the stage and wrapping his arms around the cute boy.

”I’m so proud of you Mike.” 

“Really?” Mike gasped for air, showing a glint of happiness in his eyes as brown met hazel, “I don’t think it’s that big of a deal.” It’s  actually a ginormous deal to Mike.

”Are you joking?! It’s a huge deal! You just beat twenty four contestants in a spelling bee and you’re telling me it isn’t that big of a deal?”

Mike couldn’t stop smiling, because how did he get so lucky? But then there was still Richie. He tried not to think about him. “It means a lot to me that you came, we could have done something fun and I forced you into some boring old greek fest type of thing.”

”I don’t mind,” Eddie smiled, I think it’s cute seeing the anxious side of you. The one who cares too much about impressing people.”

”H-how did you know that I’m trying to impress people?”

”It’s obvious,” Eddie chuckled, “I’m automatically impressed by your personality, you being that intelligent to spell out difficult words is so impressive, Mike.”

“I like you a lot.” Mike stated out of the blue, deciding to avoid his nerves for a moment.

”It’s safe to say the feeling is mutual.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?  
> How do you feel about Richie not coming to Mike spelling bee?  
> And have you ever won a spelling bee before?


	8. 8

**8**

Richie was irritated. Not because he was on another date with Eddie that he didn’t put much thought into—but because the brunette was constantly bringing up his twin brother and getting defensive about yesterday’s events.

”Not to interfere in your personal life, but why weren’t you at the spelling bee yesterday?” Eddie questioned as he rubbed circles into the falsely tanned boy back. They were sitting inside of McDonald’s dining area, because they wanted to get lunch before their actual date, and Richie was letting him order anything on the menu. “No reason to be.”

Eddie scoffed in disbelief. Mike did amazing. “Richie, he’s your brother. I know you have your issues and disagreements, but it doesn’t feel right that you weren’t there to cheer him on...”

Richie rolled his eyes as he crumbled up his yellow wrapper, taking in the butter taste of his own heart and how guilty he felt. He does appreciate his twin, just isn’t the best at showing it. “Why do you care so much?”

”Because I care about Mike,” Eddie said defensively, releasing his feelings into the atmosphere like smoke from a vapor, “and as someone who’s taken a liking to the both of you, I feel as though I’m responsible for making sure you’re there for each other.”

“Well it isn’t your job,” Richie retorted bluntly, tossing his wrappers into the trash can, “I’m so tired of feeling like we’re always fighting. Can we not talk about my brother for once?”

”Fine,” Eddie frowned, “I just wanted to know why you weren’t there, because he won and-“

”Stop,” Richie grunted, his eyes starting to water, “I couldn’t go, because I was at the graveyard, okay? Happy now?” Eddie wasn’t, and he felt bad, because he wasn’t sure who it was that died, or when, or why. It just happened so suddenly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

Richie began to run his left index finger across his temple. “It’s alright, I’m just an ass, and it’s completely fine if you want to choose my brother now. I don’t deserve somebody as great as you.”

”Richie,” Eddie frowned, intertwining his fingers with the other boy, “I don’t want you bringing yourself down. I’ll tell Mike what happened, if it’ll make it easier on you..but, can you tell me why you were at the graveyard?”

“My ex boyfriend,” Richie was trying really hard not to sob, but he managed to hold it in, “I’ll tell you that story another time. Why don’t we just get on to our date?”

”Sounds good, I guess.”

———

“What is this place?”

“It’s an old skate park,” Richie shrugged as he tugged Eddie forward, the small street lights brightening up the place. It smelled like weed. “Why the skate park?”

“I used to come here when I was a young kid..” Eddie felt incredibly happy at that choice. It was important to him that the past was at least somehow recapped because he wanted to know what went on with Richie behind closed doors. In the past. Present. Future. All in one bundle. “You can skate?”

”I used to be good at it, but I haven’t done anything of that sort in a while.”

”Can you teach me?” Eddie quirked, eyes lighting up at Richie’s body language. He was so cute. “I mean, only if you’re wiling to.”

”Yeah,” Richie stated with flushed cheeks, his eyes lowering towards Eddie’s lips, “There’s a rental skateboard over there, I’ll go get it.” Eddie nodded as he watched dark brunette head strut towards the lit up office, where one employee sat at the front desk, keeping their eyes torn on the magazine. It didn’t take very long for him to come back.

“Okay, so what you want to do is put your foot an inch below the nails,” Richie commented, demonstrating how it was done, “I typically use my left foot to stay steady, and my right to push. You want to do it like this.” He moved his foot forward and backwards in quick motions, explaining it nearly perfectly. “And once you start moving and you get good speed, you lift it off the ground and put it on the board.” Okay, maybe he wasn’t the best at explaining.

”I’m kind of scared,” Eddie admitted as he shakily stood on top of the board that kept trying to move, “shit, I’m going to fall.”

”No you’re not,” Richie smiled, clinging his hand to Eddie’s, “I’ve got you, I promise.”

Okay. He can do this. Eddie anxiously began to push his foot against the ground to level out the board, being amazed at how well he was doing so far, with the help of Richie of course. “Alright, now take a deep breath and put that foot on the board.”

Eddie did as he was told, and he stood on top of the skateboard stunned. He was actually doing it—he was infinite—he was falling. Richie  let go. “Ouch.”

”You alright?”

”Just a light cut on my hand, no big deal.”

”Wanna try again.” Richie offered, promising not to let go of his hand this time. “Only if you let me kiss you.”

And they kissed, like it was their first and their last and it was great. But Eddie still wondered about what it wasn’t like to kiss Mike, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?  
> What do you think happen to Richie’s ex?  
> Team Richie or team Mike?
> 
> Feedback would be great👌🏽

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the descriptions about the twins which one is your favorite and which one do you think Eddie should be with?🧐


End file.
